(Tommy) Thompson's pro bono board work short-lived

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

It was odd enough that ex-Gov. Tommy Thompson took over as chairman of the board for a Florida pharmaceutical firm in the middle of his U.S. Senate campaign. In making the announcement, TherapeuticsMD - which specializes in providing over-the-counter and prescription drugs to women - pointed to Thompson's years as U.S. health and human services secretary, including his role in adding prescription drug coverage to Medicare.

But then a spokesman for the former four-term Wisconsin governor said Thompson was planning to do the company work for free.

The governor has served as an uncompensated adviser to TherapeuticsMD for the past year, and the acceptance of the board appointment reflects his belief in the women's health products the company offers Thompson campaign aide Brian Nemoirtold told the Huffington Post in May. Obviously, he would not have accepted the uncompensated board appointment if he felt it competed with the demands of the Senate race.

According to corporate filings, Thompson has since been awarded 75,000 stock options for his services as a director and as Chairman of the Board during the 2012 calendar year.The company granted the stock options on June 29, a little more than a month after the announcement that he had joined the board.